Personally as a writer for NewsLINC I find NewsLINC to be well done, made obvious due to the fact that NewLINC was recently judged as best in Northeast U.S . It is simple to navigate through with tabs being easily established for defining what area you are reading a story about. Since NewsLINC focuses mainly on the NEK the dropdown menu that is labeled "Around the NEK" is useful to find stories that are happening in the area. But, News7/NewsLINC does cover stories that happen in other parts of Vermont/New Hampshire that affect the NEK hence that is where the Vermont and New Hampshire tabs come in to play. Weather and Sports are easily spoken for themselves and the special coverage tab is a nice touch because the three tabs in the dropdown are big and key things that go on and that are covered by us in the NEK.
I also like how all the most recent stories are always on the front page regardless of how big or how significant the story was. Another nice touch is that the website teases what is coming up on the 5:30 newscast.
One thing that I think that could be improved with the website is the Twitter feed. I think that it should be showing live tweets that the NewsLINC account tweets but also connect it to any of the VCCJ reporters professional VCCJ accounts as well.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
2013 Boston Red Sox
The 2013 Boston Red Sox are the perfect example of a team
that has gone from worst to first. For a team that looked like they were on the
down fall, to turn the season around like they did has been absolutely remarkable.
First and foremost it starts with the manager. Having Bobby Valentine as a
manager for the Red Sox was one of the worst hirings that this team has done in
a long while. Bringing back John Farrel though was probably one of the best decisions
that Ben Cherrington could have made for the upcoming season. And for only
having to give up who? Mike Aviles? Yes please and thank you.
Another factor has been the players that Cherrington brought
in for this season. New players such as Mike Napoli, Johnny Gomes, Mike Carp,
Stephen Drew, Koji Uehara, David Ross, Ryan Dempster, Jake Peavy, were not just
brought in as their skills as a baseball players, but their presence in the
club house as well. All of these players are leaders in the club house and that
is exactly what the 2012 Red Sox were lacking. The team chemistry of the 2013
Red Sox is that of a championship worthy team thanks to the likes of the afore
mentioned players as well as John Farrel.
The on field production turnaround too has been remarkable.
The pitching staff last year, which was one of the worst in the MLB ranked at
27th, has been the biggest and most important turn around with the
pitching staff this year ranked at 11th. Having Jon Lester and Clay
Buchholz return to being the form of Aces a top of that rotation has been key.
Having John Lackey and Felix Doubrount take another step in success in a Red
Sox uniform anchoring the back end of that rotation solidified the rotation.
With Ryan Dempster being basically a non-factor bringing in Jake Peavy was key
to locking down the final spot in the rotation and making the rotation solid
and a rotation to be beckoned with in the playoffs.
The offensive turnaround mean while has not been much of a surprise but it has been nice to watch. Watching the top offense in the league has been fun, well as watching the team crush the tarting pitching of opposing teams
night in and night out.
Finally one of the more promising contributions has been the
young players that have come up from AAA. Red Sox fans got a chance to look at
players like Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa, Stephen Wright, Drake Britton,
Brandon Workman, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Xander Bogaerts whom are projected to
make impacts for the big league in the immediate as well as for many years
to come.
Overall the 2013 season has been a major success for the Red
Sox and they are expected to be one of the teams competing to be left standing
at the very end when it is time to crown a World Series winner.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Podcast Creation
For the podcast I will be working with Nick Aresco
and doing a podcast about the Boston Red Sox. We will discuss the 2013 season and discuss the remarkable turnaround that the Red Sox had this season.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Podcast Critique
98.5 The Sports Hub
The two podcasts that I selected were both sports podcasts. I chose to critique Toucher and Rich, and Felger and Massarotti, both pairs are radio personalities on the sports station 98.5 The Sports Hub, based out of Boston.
I chose to critique these two podcasts for two reasons. One, because I regularly listen to their radio broadcasts while I am at home, and two because I like am a big sports fan and like to keep what is up with the Boston sports teams.
Their podcasts are rebroadcasts of their radio shows so sometimes when I'm up at school I download their podcasts and listen to the podcasts.
Toucher and Rich
Toucher and Rich are my favorite pair to listen to on 98.5 The Sports Hub. The two have great personalities and work extremely well together.
What I like about them is that they always cover a wide variety of topics about the different Boston sports teams, they do not just focus in on one team or one specific sport. The other thing that I enjoy very much about these two is that they love to have fun. They always are making fun of things and making jokes of things making, not only the listeners laugh, but in turn making themselves laugh which makes everything much more funny. One final thing that I like about these two is their passion. They don't just talk about sports for the sake of talking about sports, they are passionate and feverishly debate the topic until they have broken down every single possible angle.
There isn't much that I dislike about these two. The only real thing that I could say that I dislike is that when they go off on a rant about a random topic that doesn't relate to sports. While yes, the rants are hilariously funny they get away from sports.
Felger and Massarotti
These two have a different approach than what Toucher and Rich do so that is what I like about them, to mix it up a little bit. While this may seem weird, one of the things that I enjoy about them is that I disagree with what their views on certain topics, especially that of Tony Massarotti. I like it because it gives me something to debate, whether it is with someone else or whether it is debating it with myself as I stand in the kitchen making lunch or doing the dishes.
What I do not like about these two is Tony Massarotti. While I do enjoy listening to him and he is a very knowledgeable broadcaster I do not like how he carries himself on the air. He tends to brush off certain topics and not want to talk about them or is very arrogant whilst on the air or even to people who call into the show.
-While I enjoy these two podcasts very much I do not carry their podcasts on my iPod or on my computer. I only tend to do it when I am up at school and I want to listen in to the shows that I have missed.
The two podcasts that I selected were both sports podcasts. I chose to critique Toucher and Rich, and Felger and Massarotti, both pairs are radio personalities on the sports station 98.5 The Sports Hub, based out of Boston.
I chose to critique these two podcasts for two reasons. One, because I regularly listen to their radio broadcasts while I am at home, and two because I like am a big sports fan and like to keep what is up with the Boston sports teams.
Their podcasts are rebroadcasts of their radio shows so sometimes when I'm up at school I download their podcasts and listen to the podcasts.
Toucher and Rich
Toucher and Rich are my favorite pair to listen to on 98.5 The Sports Hub. The two have great personalities and work extremely well together.
What I like about them is that they always cover a wide variety of topics about the different Boston sports teams, they do not just focus in on one team or one specific sport. The other thing that I enjoy very much about these two is that they love to have fun. They always are making fun of things and making jokes of things making, not only the listeners laugh, but in turn making themselves laugh which makes everything much more funny. One final thing that I like about these two is their passion. They don't just talk about sports for the sake of talking about sports, they are passionate and feverishly debate the topic until they have broken down every single possible angle.
There isn't much that I dislike about these two. The only real thing that I could say that I dislike is that when they go off on a rant about a random topic that doesn't relate to sports. While yes, the rants are hilariously funny they get away from sports.
Felger and Massarotti
Felger and Mazz are my other favorite pair to listen to. They are another pair that work very well together and are very knowledgeable about all the Boston sports rather than just one sport in general.
These two have a different approach than what Toucher and Rich do so that is what I like about them, to mix it up a little bit. While this may seem weird, one of the things that I enjoy about them is that I disagree with what their views on certain topics, especially that of Tony Massarotti. I like it because it gives me something to debate, whether it is with someone else or whether it is debating it with myself as I stand in the kitchen making lunch or doing the dishes.
What I do not like about these two is Tony Massarotti. While I do enjoy listening to him and he is a very knowledgeable broadcaster I do not like how he carries himself on the air. He tends to brush off certain topics and not want to talk about them or is very arrogant whilst on the air or even to people who call into the show.
-While I enjoy these two podcasts very much I do not carry their podcasts on my iPod or on my computer. I only tend to do it when I am up at school and I want to listen in to the shows that I have missed.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Vermont Symphony Orchestra is coming to Lyndon State College
Vermont Symphony Orchestra visits Lyndon State College
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is on their annual "Made in Vermont Music Festival" fall foliage tour and one of their stops is here at Lyndon State College on September 26th.
Their fourth stop on the "Made in Vermont Music Festival" tour, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra will play in the Alexander Twilight Theater at 7:30pm. New music is included in the VSO's ever expanding library of music and this program it includes new music by Vermont composers, as well as a commission by Andrew Massey which is called "Vermont Spring."
For your listening pleasure several of the VSO's extraordinary principal players will be playing selections from the likes of Vivaldi, Bach, as well as Mozart. The Music Director, Jamie Laredo will be conducting the event as well as soloing.
The VSO will feature several performers in several of their pieces that they will be playing. The likes of Nancy Dimock (oboe), Jaime Laredo (violin), Janet Polk (bassoon), and Albert Brouwer (flute) will feature in the performance.
It is not to late to purchase your tickets, with tickets starting at $10 and discounts available for Vermont State College Faculty, Staff, and Students! For more information about the performance contact the VSO at (800)-VSO-9293.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
WOOD TV8 Critique
The WOOD TV 8 is a NBC affiliate news station that broadcasts for Western Michigan, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In order to keep viewers happy they have a website (http://www.woodtv.com), a twitter page (@WOODTV) and a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/woodtv).
WEBSITE
Wood TV 8's website is very user friendly and clearly lays out what is where. They have different tabs at the top of the website that drop down and give the user different options to which to navigate to rather than just have a tab with the singular option to go to for what the tab says.
On the homepage they have the main stories headlined at the top followed by a list of the most recent headlines as you scroll down the page. The website also uses many forms of media by incorporating videos as well to go along with the articles.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Along with their website WOOD TV 8 also features a Twitter and Facebook page. Both of the social media websites are easy to use as both pages post links to stories that are featured on their website.
In order to keep viewers happy they have a website (http://www.woodtv.com), a twitter page (@WOODTV) and a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/woodtv).
WEBSITE
Wood TV 8's website is very user friendly and clearly lays out what is where. They have different tabs at the top of the website that drop down and give the user different options to which to navigate to rather than just have a tab with the singular option to go to for what the tab says.
On the homepage they have the main stories headlined at the top followed by a list of the most recent headlines as you scroll down the page. The website also uses many forms of media by incorporating videos as well to go along with the articles.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Along with their website WOOD TV 8 also features a Twitter and Facebook page. Both of the social media websites are easy to use as both pages post links to stories that are featured on their website.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Writing For The Web
75 Year Old Bridge Wiped out by Flood
Last year a 75 year old bridge that crossed the Roaring Creek as well as went along Roaring Creek Road, was washed away by a flood.
Since then the county has been working on getting the bridge fixed. Roland Lively, the department head of the County Department of Transportation said that: "The bridge was not in great shape when it was destroyed. We already had some money in the county budget for repairs. Problem was, we didn't have enough to replace the bridge. We were just going to repair it. Fortunately, some state and federal money was available, and we were able to do it a lot quicker than we had expected."
The total cost to replace the 33 foot bridge is $700,000. With the county paying $100,00, the state paying $200,000 and the U.S Department of Transportation funds totaling $400,000, the bridge was able to be reconstructed.
Long Process
With the bridge out residents had to drive further that they usually would to get to highway 19, which was the main route through Midville. To get back to Highway 19, residents of Oak Grove had to drive an extra 9 miles out of the way.
Residents are quite pleased to have their bridge back. After it being open for several weeks now, the official opening ceremonies of the bridge are this morning at 11.
BRIDGE WASHING AWAY-Video
Last year a 75 year old bridge that crossed the Roaring Creek as well as went along Roaring Creek Road, was washed away by a flood.
Since then the county has been working on getting the bridge fixed. Roland Lively, the department head of the County Department of Transportation said that: "The bridge was not in great shape when it was destroyed. We already had some money in the county budget for repairs. Problem was, we didn't have enough to replace the bridge. We were just going to repair it. Fortunately, some state and federal money was available, and we were able to do it a lot quicker than we had expected."
The total cost to replace the 33 foot bridge is $700,000. With the county paying $100,00, the state paying $200,000 and the U.S Department of Transportation funds totaling $400,000, the bridge was able to be reconstructed.
Long Process
With the bridge out residents had to drive further that they usually would to get to highway 19, which was the main route through Midville. To get back to Highway 19, residents of Oak Grove had to drive an extra 9 miles out of the way.
Residents are quite pleased to have their bridge back. After it being open for several weeks now, the official opening ceremonies of the bridge are this morning at 11.
BRIDGE WASHING AWAY-Video
Questionable Performance
The Patriots opened their 2013-2014 season Sunday afternoon with a match up against their division rival Buffalo Bills.
Led by veteran, and future hall of fame QB Tom Brady, most thought that it would be an easy victory for the Patriots and as well as a coming out party for the young receiving core as they faced a less than stellar Bills defense that ranked 22nd in the league last season. Much to the surprise of Patriots fans, and probably to a lot of Buffalo fans as well, the Bills proved to be quite the thorn in the Patriots side, and gave New England a run for their money.
After the 1st quarter was in the books the Patriots looked poised to dominate the Bills after getting out to a 10-0 lead with a TD pass from Brady to 5th year wide receiver Julian Edelman and a field goal from 8th year kicker Stephen Gostkowski. The 2nd quarter proved to be another story though as the Bills scored twice to pull within 3 points while Brady connected again with Edelman for the pair's second touchdowns of the game.
Poor performance by the Patriots offense allowed the Bills to take the lead in the 3rd quarter when rookie QB EJ Manuel connected with Stevie Johnson for his 1st career touchdown pass to put the Bills on top 21-17. The Bills stayed in control of the game all the way into the 4th quarter until Tom Brady showed why he is one of the best ever and marched the sub-par Patriots down the field to put Stephen Gostkowski in position to hit the game winning 30 yard field goal.
A combination of high and low expectations lead to the Patriots poor performance. After a stellar pre-season for the young reviving core of the Patriots most had high expectations but, after poor performance by the rookies, especially that of Wide Receiver Kembrell Thompkins and Tight End Zach Suffield, it left Patriots fans reevaluating their expectations.
It was the veterans and returners that ended up saving the day for the Patriots. Newly added wide receiver Danny Amendola as well as wide receiver Julian Edleman shined for Brady as Amendola racked up 10 catches for 104 yards, as well as adding a few clutch outstanding catches, and Edleman added a pair of TD catches.
It was not thousand yard rusher and starting running back Steven Ridley that shined in the backfield, but rather it was the man that the Patriots took the round before him in the 2010 NFL draft, Shane Vareen, that did the bulk of the work. After fumbling the football in the 2nd quarter Coach Belichik subsequently benched Ridley and inserted Vareen in the lineup and was not disappointed as Vareen turned in his first career 100 yard game by rushing for 101 yards on 14 carries.
A combination of high and low expectations lead to the Patriots poor performance. After a stellar pre-season for the young reviving core of the Patriots most had high expectations but, after poor performance by the rookies, especially that of Wide Receiver Kembrell Thompkins and Tight End Zach Suffield, it left Patriots fans reevaluating their expectations.
It was the veterans and returners that ended up saving the day for the Patriots. Newly added wide receiver Danny Amendola as well as wide receiver Julian Edleman shined for Brady as Amendola racked up 10 catches for 104 yards, as well as adding a few clutch outstanding catches, and Edleman added a pair of TD catches.
It was not thousand yard rusher and starting running back Steven Ridley that shined in the backfield, but rather it was the man that the Patriots took the round before him in the 2010 NFL draft, Shane Vareen, that did the bulk of the work. After fumbling the football in the 2nd quarter Coach Belichik subsequently benched Ridley and inserted Vareen in the lineup and was not disappointed as Vareen turned in his first career 100 yard game by rushing for 101 yards on 14 carries.
While yes, a win is a win it was not a pretty one. And while Patriots fans should be happy with the victory, the cause for concern for the rest of the season is definitely there.
Car Crash Proves Fatal
CAR CRASH PROVES FATAL
LYNDONVILLE, VT- Unfortunate timing lead to unfortunate events earlier this afternoon as an elderly woman crashed her vehicle into the front window of a local restaurant, killing one.
The incident occurred when, Annie Coulter, 82, was driving her car southbound on Depot Street when, according to Coulter, swerved to avoid a pedestrian and then had the brakes of her 1999 Chevrolet fail. Coulter, losing control of her car, crashed through the front window of Central Restaurant.
The victim, 59 year old John Barker of Concord, VT, was sitting in the restaurant eating a meal when Coulter's car crashed through the front window. Barker, was not struck by the car crashing through the window but was struck by flying glass resulting in minor cuts.
Unfortunate Death
It was not the incident of the car crashing through the front window that resulted in the death of Barker but rather it was in the process of a good deed that lead to the death of Barker. While trying to help Coulter out of her car, Barker complained of chest pains and then collapsed and died of a heart attack.
Coulter was lucky and only suffered minor injuries from the incident.
CAR CRASHES THROUGH WINDOW-Video
LYNDONVILLE, VT- Unfortunate timing lead to unfortunate events earlier this afternoon as an elderly woman crashed her vehicle into the front window of a local restaurant, killing one.
The incident occurred when, Annie Coulter, 82, was driving her car southbound on Depot Street when, according to Coulter, swerved to avoid a pedestrian and then had the brakes of her 1999 Chevrolet fail. Coulter, losing control of her car, crashed through the front window of Central Restaurant.
The victim, 59 year old John Barker of Concord, VT, was sitting in the restaurant eating a meal when Coulter's car crashed through the front window. Barker, was not struck by the car crashing through the window but was struck by flying glass resulting in minor cuts.
Unfortunate Death
It was not the incident of the car crashing through the front window that resulted in the death of Barker but rather it was in the process of a good deed that lead to the death of Barker. While trying to help Coulter out of her car, Barker complained of chest pains and then collapsed and died of a heart attack.
Coulter was lucky and only suffered minor injuries from the incident.
CAR CRASHES THROUGH WINDOW-Video
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Gunpoint Robbery
At roughly 1:15am this morning one man entered the hometown Sunoco in Swanton, VT, and robbed the cashier at gunpoint.
The robber, described as a white male and approximately 5'8"-6'00", escaped the Sunoco on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash and items. Thankfully no one was injured in the robbery.
The Vermont State Police are continuing their search for the suspect and are following-up on all investigative leads, and they would like your help. If anyone has any information regarding the robbery or suspect they are asked to contact the Vermont State Police in Saint Albans at 820-524-5993 or Franklin County Sherriff's Office at 802-524-2121.
The police have no other information available at the time due to the case still being under investigation. An update will be issued when more information becomes available.
The robber, described as a white male and approximately 5'8"-6'00", escaped the Sunoco on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash and items. Thankfully no one was injured in the robbery.
The Vermont State Police are continuing their search for the suspect and are following-up on all investigative leads, and they would like your help. If anyone has any information regarding the robbery or suspect they are asked to contact the Vermont State Police in Saint Albans at 820-524-5993 or Franklin County Sherriff's Office at 802-524-2121.
The police have no other information available at the time due to the case still being under investigation. An update will be issued when more information becomes available.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Hunting...how not to do it
A hunting incident during the afternoon of October 20, 2013 proves to be almost fatal for one man, and turns into a criminal offense for another.
Conrad Masse, of Craftsbury, VT, and Wayne Goff of Wolcott, VT, were off hunting bear together. They were using radio telemetry and GPS to track to bears that the two men had released on the trail of a bear.
On Urie Rd the two men decided to get in front of the bear that was already being pursued by two dogs. Goff exited the truck to wait for the bear to cross while Masse drove the truck approximately 514 feet down the road where he then exited the truck to wait for the bear to cross the road.
The bear eventually did cross the road, right in between Masse and Goff. Masse proceeded to open fire upon the bear with his .30-06 Remington rifle by firing three shots.
The three shots whistled down the road one hitting the bear, the second hitting a tree off to the side, and the third striking Goff. The bullet struck Goff in the pelvic area.
Goff was transported to North County Hospital and transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medial Center for treatment. Since the incident he has been released from the hospital and Goff is in stable condition.
After the investigation concluded Masse was issued a citation to appear in the Orleans Superior Court on February 28th, 2014 in order to answer the charge of Aggravated Assault. Masse was also issued a Fish and Game tickets from firing from the road, having a loaded rifle in his vehicle, and not having proper display or permits for the bear hounds.
This incident shows that you always have to be careful while hunting, no matter how experienced you are. And most importantly, make sure you don't shoot your friend.
New top play of the year?
With so many amazing defensive plays during this 2013 MLB season, Oakland Athletics 3rd baseman Josh Donaldson may have turned in the play of the year.
Good things happen to those who wait
After 20 long years of mediocre play, teasing fans with hopes of success only to fail in the end, the Pittsburgh Pirates rewarded the Pirate faithful by securing their first winning season in 20 years by beating their NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers 4-3
More legal trouble surrounds Boston sports teams
Celtics 2nd year forward Jared Sullinger in legal trouble following domestic-violence charges.
New England Patriots face off against Bills and rookie QB E.J Manuel
Patriots face unique task of shutting down rookie duel-threat quarterback E.J Manuel on Sunday despite rookie coming off of minor knee procedure during the preseason.
Ace Off: Lester v. Scherzer
Jon Lester shows that he is still ace material by out dueling Cy Young candidate in Detroit's Max Scherzer and shutting down the American League's top offense.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Blog Critique
For a blog critique i decided to choose a sports blog as I am a huge sports fan, a huge baseball fan in particular. This blog (http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/) dicusses all major moves made in the MLB or potential trade rumors that surrond certain players or situation that would make sense for a team to make a deal.
What I like about this blog is that is constantly updated on a daily basis with multiple posts per day. Each post goes in depth about each rumor or a potential situation rather than just say...this is the rumor or this is the situation...the end they go in depth describing how the move would affect each team and impact them not only in the immediate but also in the future. There weren't any things that I disliked about this blog except for the fact that they did not really use a variety of different forms of media. From a sports fan perspective they did everything right and covered everything that needed to be covered and went into great detail and did a very good job writing each post.
So for any of you that are big baseball fans and are interested in rumors or potential situations for moves that teams could make, this blog is for you.
Pimp My Blog
So this was quite the confusing task at first. At first I had no idea what to do or how to go about navigating through this to "Pimp My Blog." After fiddling around with it for awhile I finally figured out how to do it all! So to start I played around with the templates and backgrounds. After unsuccessfully finding a template that I had liked I tried to upload a picture of my choosing to make the blog have something personal of mine. And after not being able to make the picture full screen I decided to browse the selection that the website provided before choosing on the current background. The profile picture I chose because well, it is one of my favorite pictures! The picture is of me sitting on a rock with my girlfriends youngest brother overlooking a lake just north of Saratoga Springs, NY. The text style I picked because it was the text that I liked the best out of the choices provided, it is kind of a fun kind of text. So that's the process I did to making my blog how it is! Check back for more posts throughout the year!
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